Sunday, August 28, 2016

I have to admit. The trio dances are one of my favorite parts of the season on Dancing with the Stars. This semifinal kicked off with just a brilliant one, with Alan (who may or may not be dating Paige), Paige and Mark Ballas. She was the bird of paradise, they the peacocks in this stunning samba.

Every step was perfect to these eyes, and the judges concurred, giving this number a perfect score.

Sharna, Antonio and Hayley do an Argentine Tango.

I really liked Sharna and Antonio and Hayley's sexy Argentine tango, but the judges did not give it a perfect score. :-(

Wanya slipped last week on an errant bandana (really costing them the finals, IMHO), and this week, he was having NONE of that. His paso doble with Lindsay and Witney had no extraneous items in it, and the power and drive behind it gave them a perfect score from the judges. Beautiful stuff. Got a standing ovation from Len (no small feat, that).

Peta, Nyle and Jenna rock out a Trio during the Semi-finals.

Sorry, but I'm still on my anti-Nyle rant. I really don't like him as a competitor, and feel like Peta is the one doing all the magic in this combo. It was fun to see Jenna (who knows sign language) communicate with Nyle. But Nyle's footwork in this jive was off (according to the judges), and he did not get a perfect score for this trio.

Val, Ginger and Artem do a mean paso doble.

First, take a moment. A stormy paso doble with Val C and Artem. *swoon* Val's choreography, as always, stunning. However, for me, Ginger still can't get the concept of character down, and comes up with more constipated face than dramatic face. Her dancing is pretty amazing though. The judges believed that she "lost a lot of the shapes" because there was so much going on in the dance. So they received all 9s.MICHE'S FAVORITES: TRIO ROUND
1. Mark, Alan and Paige (Samba)
2. Lindsay, Witney and Wanya (paso doble)
3. Val, Artem, Ginger (paso doble)
4. Sharna, Hayley and Antonio (Argentine tango)
5. Peta, Jenna and Nyle (jive)

Next up? Individual dances.

Before I even start writing about this, remember this is the girl who fights MMA, punches people in the face, for a living. She started the season by saying that she doesn't do much "girly" stuff. Now look at the photo again. And this dance... Holy moly.

To say this dance was HOT is a grand understatement. Mark Ballas (such a genius with choreography and concept) even borrowed (sorta) a trick from Derek Hough, where they danced with a table in between them, which only made the dance hotter.

Throughout the dance, they were taking articles of clothing off. And then there was this whole thing with the shirt, where he (as the choreographer) incorporated her taking it off of him (and wrapping it around them both) as part of the dance. Incredible stuff.

Whew! Hot in here, eh?

And now, a BOW to the genius of Mark Ballas. Wow, was that incredible.

(Got a little too steamy for Len's taste, but the other two judges liked it just fine.)

Man, I think all the other competitors can just sit down after that one dance...

Sharna and Antonio choose contemporary as their solo dance. Sharna does a really excellent job (usually) of incorporating who the star is into the final dances. It's just that after the work of art that Mark Ballas presented, this feels like going to a stadium named Citibank or something. The music was called "Standing in the Hall of Fame" and the images were all pictures of him playing football. I was not a fan of this dance.

The judges liked it, especially the lifts.

Charleston is a dance that they've only incorporated in the past few seasons, but man, I do love it when pros choose to use it.

It does make me sad to watch this now, though, cause Lindsay and Wanya really could've (in some ways should've) won this thing. Their dancing was just impeccable.

Then, there was this. Peta, doing every version of pushing the envelope this season with Nyle, in the semis decides to make a deaf man blind. (For a portion of the song, not the whole song.)

It got a perfect score from the judges. Blah blah. I'm so over Nyle. And, once again, credit for this dance goes to its choreographer, Peta, and her husband Maks. It wasn't Nyle "pushing his boundaries," it was Peta, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in dance (IMHO).

Last, Ginger and Val do a quickstep. There was some issues in both of Ginger's dances with her skirts being too bulky to dance with. It is the one consistent thing I have issue with the costumers about. Otherwise, they do great work. (Well, and other than that errant bandana which cost Wanya the finals last week.) Carrie Ann scored them down for Ginger getting snagged in her dress.

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About Me

I’m a hard-working journalist/blogger who takes this job every bit as seriously as one in a brick-and-mortar location. I’ve been a critic (film, theatre, music) and an entertainment writer. I’ve worked just about every job in a newspaper or magazine except sales and cleaning crew. I’ve watched technology jump leaps and bounds, and am still trying to keep up. My manifesto, in this blog and elsewhere in my writing, is to always be honest to my audience. I hope you enjoy my writings. I’m still trying to figure out a way to make this more interactive. So please comment! Let me know what you think. Thanks.

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